Technical Matter Guide
Procedure and 2026 court-bundle rules checked 25 September 2026Family Court position statements: structure, bundle references, safeguarding, orders sought and the 2026 three-page rule
A position statement is written submission for a particular hearing. Its job is to tell the court what the live issues are, what your position is on those issues, which existing material matters and what you ask the court to do. It should make the hearing easier to manage and decide — not recreate the entire case in miniature.
What is a position statement?
PD27A defines a position statement in non-financial family proceedings as a form of written submission setting out a party's position on the issues to be determined at the particular hearing.
The words “particular hearing” matter.
A position statement should be designed for the decision the judge needs to make now — not for every possible issue in the proceedings.
The five-question test
Before drafting, answer:
What is this hearing for?
What has already been decided?
What remains disputed?
What is my position?
What exactly do I want the judge to order?
Position statement versus witness statement
Witness statement
Contains evidence the witness can properly give.
It may describe events, observations, communications and other relevant facts and is ordinarily verified by a statement of truth.
Position statement
Contains written submissions about the particular hearing.
It identifies the live issues, your position, existing evidence and the directions or orders sought.
Position statement versus skeleton argument
PD27A now expressly distinguishes them.
A position statement sets out your position on the issues.
A skeleton argument is a separate document setting out legal argument in support of that position where a skeleton is appropriate or directed.
A practical structure for a private-law children position statement
The exact structure should reflect the hearing.
But the following framework is often useful.
Six-part structure
1. HEARING AND PURPOSE
Identify the date, hearing type and what the court is being asked to determine.
2. ESSENTIAL BACKGROUND
Provide only enough procedural history to make the present issues understandable.
3. CURRENT POSITION
State the present child arrangements and any material change since the previous hearing.
4. LIVE ISSUES
Identify the questions which remain genuinely disputed.
5. YOUR POSITION
State your position on each issue with concise reasons and bundle references.
6. ORDERS / DIRECTIONS SOUGHT
Set out precisely what you invite the court to order.
Opening paragraph
A judge should understand immediately:
- who filed the document;
- which hearing it is for;
- the position of that party in the proceedings;
- and what the hearing is intended to decide.
Essential background
Background should be genuinely necessary.
A directions hearing about overdue disclosure may require only:
- the relevant earlier order;
- the disclosure direction;
- the original deadline;
- what has happened since;
- and the effect on the next hearing.
It probably does not require the entire history of the parties' relationship.
Define the issues
Useful issue headings may look like:
- Interim child arrangements;
- Whether a fact-finding hearing is necessary;
- Scope of police disclosure;
- Section 7 addendum;
- School information;
- Participation directions;
- Expert evidence;
- Final hearing timetable;
- or variation of an existing direction.
One useful drafting formula
For each issue:
ISSUE → YOUR POSITION → WHY → EXISTING EVIDENCE → CHILD / PROCEDURAL IMPACT → ORDER SOUGHT
Front-page information
PD27A requires preliminary documents to state on the front page, immediately below the heading:
- the date the document was prepared; and
- the date of the hearing for which it was prepared.
The content should change with the hearing
| Hearing | Position statement focus |
|---|---|
| FHDRA / early hearing | Current arrangements, safeguarding, matters agreed, live disputes, interim position and necessary next directions. |
| Directions hearing | Compliance with previous directions, outstanding evidence, proportionality, disclosure, Cafcass work and the timetable required. |
| Fact-finding hearing | The scope of the factual issues, agreed matters, preliminary evidential issues, witnesses and any outstanding procedural directions. The evidence itself belongs elsewhere. |
| DRA | Current recommendations, changes since earlier hearings, issues capable of agreement, remaining welfare dispute and what is required if settlement is not possible. |
| Final hearing | Established factual platform, current welfare issues, Cafcass or professional evidence, final proposals and precise final orders sought. |
| Enforcement hearing | Operative order, alleged non-compliance, response, explanation, child impact and the enforcement, variation or case-management outcome sought. |
Directions hearing example
Issue:
School disclosure ordered on 12 August has not been received.
Position:
The applicant says the final statements should not be filed until that disclosure
is available because both parties were directed to address the child's school presentation.
Evidence:
Order dated 12 August at A43, paragraphs 8–10; correspondence with school at C78–C82.
Order sought:
A short extension of the statement timetable with disclosure to be provided by a
fixed date, preserving the listed DRA if reasonably possible.
Final hearing example
By final hearing, the document should ordinarily stop revisiting every procedural disagreement and concentrate on:
- what factual findings or admissions already exist;
- what welfare questions remain;
- what Cafcass or another professional recommends;
- your response to that recommendation;
- the relevant welfare factors;
- risk and protective factors;
- and the precise final arrangements sought.
Refer to evidence accurately — especially in safeguarding cases
A position statement can summarise your evidential position, but it must not quietly change the evidential status of material.
| Status | How to describe it |
|---|---|
| Allegation | Attribute it unless it has been admitted or determined. |
| Admission | State accurately what was admitted and avoid expanding it beyond the actual admission. |
| Finding | Identify the judgment, schedule or order containing the finding. |
| Professional assessment | Identify whose assessment it is and do not present it as though it were a judicial finding. |
| Child's wishes and feelings | Identify the source and context rather than presenting the child as the person responsible for deciding the proceedings. |
Cafcass recommendations
If you disagree with a Cafcass recommendation, avoid turning the position statement into an attack on the professional.
Analyse:
- what is actually recommended;
- the reasons given;
- the factual premises relied upon;
- the findings or evidence relevant to those premises;
- the welfare consequence;
- and your alternative proposal.
Evidence-led challenge
Less useful:
“Cafcass completely ignored everything and the report is biased.”
More useful:
“The applicant disagrees with the recommendation at C147. The report states at paragraph 42 that there are no findings of coercive control. Findings 2 and 4 were, however, made in the judgment dated 18 June at B63–B71. The applicant asks the court to consider whether the recommendation requires further explanation in light of that factual platform.”
Domestic abuse
Where PD12J is engaged, a position statement should distinguish clearly between:
- disputed allegations;
- findings already made;
- current risk issues;
- professional risk assessment;
- the child's experience;
- and the practical safeguards sought.
New evidence arriving shortly before the hearing
Do not simply attach it to the position statement.
Consider:
- whether it is genuinely new;
- whether it is relevant and necessary;
- whether the other party has seen it;
- whether permission is needed;
- whether the bundle needs to be amended;
- and whether procedural fairness requires time to respond.
Tell the court exactly what you want it to do
One of the most useful functions of a position statement is to force the writer to identify the actual outcome sought.
Avoid vague outcomes
Less useful:
“I want Cafcass investigated.”
Consider what judicial direction is actually required:
an addendum addressing specified questions → attendance of the FCA → disclosure of identified records → clarification of factual assumptions → further welfare analysis.
Draftable directions
A useful proposed direction identifies:
- who must do something;
- what they must do;
- the scope of the task;
- the deadline;
- where the document is filed;
- who it is served upon;
- and how it connects to the next stage of proceedings.
| Vague request | More useful approach |
|---|---|
| “I want school records.” | Identify the school, relevant records, proportionate date range, purpose and proposed disclosure date. |
| “I want another Cafcass report.” | Identify the unresolved welfare question and why existing evidence does not answer it. |
| “I want more contact.” | Give the proposed frequency, duration, handover, safeguards and progression where appropriate. |
| “I want the hearing adjourned.” | Explain what cannot fairly be determined, what additional step is required, the minimum period needed and the revised timetable. |
Interim child arrangements
Where interim arrangements are sought, make the proposal workable.
Consider:
- days and times;
- collection and return;
- school arrangements;
- supervision or support where required;
- indirect communication;
- holidays or special dates;
- risk management;
- and whether progression or review is proposed.
Final hearing
At final hearing, the position statement should be capable of showing the court:
factual platform → welfare analysis → professional evidence → practical proposal → final order sought.
Filing, service and the JSH Law position statement audit
Check the case-specific order first
PD27A operates alongside any specific directions given in the individual case.
If the court has ordered position statements to be filed at a particular date or time, follow that direction.
Default PD27A timetable
Position statements form part of the preliminary documents.
Unless the court directs otherwise, preliminary documents which have not already been served and filed must ordinarily be served on the parties and filed with the court by:
11am on the working day before the hearing.
The wider default bundle timetable also requires parties to seek agreement on bundle contents seven working days before the hearing and the substantive bundle to be filed five working days before the hearing. The case-specific order may alter those dates.
The seven-layer position statement audit
1. PURPOSE
Can the judge see immediately what today's hearing is for?
2. ISSUES
Have I confined the document to the matters actually requiring determination?
3. STATUS
Have I accurately separated allegations, admissions, findings and professional assessments?
4. EVIDENCE
Have I cross-referenced existing evidence instead of adding new evidence?
5. CHILD
Is the welfare or safeguarding relevance clear where appropriate?
6. ORDER
Have I said precisely what order or directions I seek?
7. PROPORTION
Is it within the applicable page limit and stripped of unnecessary repetition?
30-point checklist
1. What hearing is this for?
2. What date is the hearing?
3. What does the latest order say the hearing is for?
4. What has already been decided?
5. What remains disputed?
6. What is agreed?
7. What is my position on each live issue?
8. What does the other party seek?
9. Is Cafcass or another professional recommendation relevant?
10. Do I agree with that recommendation?
11. If not, precisely why not?
12. Which existing evidence supports my position?
13. Are my bundle references accurate?
14. Have I introduced any new evidence?
15. Have I attached any exhibits?
16. Have I quoted documents at excessive length?
17. Have I repeated unnecessary relationship history?
18. Have I distinguished allegations from findings?
19. Have I distinguished professional assessment from fact?
20. Have I identified child impact rather than simply adult grievance?
21. Are the safeguarding issues described accurately?
22. What exact orders or directions do I seek?
23. Are they practical and capable of implementation?
24. If I cite authority, have I stated the legal proposition first?
25. Have I actually checked that authority?
26. Is this a fresh position statement for this hearing?
27. Is the document self-contained?
28. Does the front page give the preparation date and hearing date?
29. Is it within three pages unless otherwise directed?
30. Could a judge understand what I want and why within two minutes?
Primary sources and official guidance
- Practice Direction 27A — Family Proceedings: Court Bundles — current rules on position statements, preliminary documents, page limits, bundle references and filing timetable.
- Judiciary — Preparing Court Bundles for Family Proceedings: Guide for Litigants in Person — official guidance accompanying the March 2026 bundle reforms.
- Family Procedure Rules — Part 27 — hearings, directions appointments and application of PD27A.
- Practice Direction 12B — Child Arrangements Programme — private-law children procedure and hearing structure.
- Practice Direction 12J — Domestic Abuse & Harm — safeguarding, domestic abuse, findings, risk and welfare.
- Family Procedure Rules — Part 4 — case-management powers and procedural directions.
- Family Procedure Rules — Part 22 — evidence and witness statements, helping distinguish evidence from written submissions.
Hearing approaching and your position is buried inside hundreds of pages?
JSH Law can help turn the case papers into a concise, court-focused position statement built around the issues the judge actually has to decide.
Support can include identifying the live issues, analysing Cafcass recommendations, checking findings and orders, selecting useful bundle references, framing safeguarding concerns carefully and drafting precise orders or directions sought.
We can also help ensure the position statement remains what it is supposed to be: a clear written submission — not another witness statement and not a document dump.
Start with the latest sealed order, hearing notice, current bundle, relevant reports and the practical outcome you want the court to consider.
Book a Free 15-Minute Consultation
© 2026 JSH Law Ltd. All rights reserved.
© 2026 JSH Law Ltd. All rights reserved.
© 2026 JSH Law Ltd. All rights reserved.